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On November 3rd Apple lovers everywhere were finally able to get their hands on the latest and greatest from the tech giant, iPhone X (“ten” not “ex”), and with it, the much anticipated animojis. Basically Snapchat filters on steroids, animojis have taken the Internet by storm, inspiring countless memes, videos, and compilations. One of our favorites making the rounds features iconic movie scenes reimagined with animojis from Clint Eastwood delivering his iconic “go ahead make my day” line as an animated fox to Humphrey Bogart saying, “Here’s to looking at you kid” to Ingrid Bergman with his face as a poop emoji. Adding a fresh tool to content creation, we can’t wait to see what other new trends and viral videos animoji will inspire.

To celebrate Opel’s new Online Edition, a tech-infused car complete with capabilities much like virtual assistants Alexa and Siri, the German automobile manufacturer created a “Pay With Views” campaign. The campaign challenged customers to go viral by offering them the chance to pay for a brand new Opel Online Edition with YouTube views on a video created during their test drive. The Opel Karl Online Edition could be purchased with 589,900 views, while the Opel Astra Online Edition could be purchased in exchange for 922,800 views. Not only was this a genius way for Opel to put their customers to work for them getting coveted views, it has raised interesting questions around new forms of currency during a time where online views and engagement are so valuable.

The brainchild of studio PARTY and sound artist Ray Kunimoto, a digital greenhouse in Tokyo’s Midtown sprouted up for a limited time, complete with psychedelic LED lights and a vegetable orchestra. Visitors were encouraged to interact with the vegetables by smelling, hearing, and touching, which triggered a series of light displays and sounds. The sounds were all made from naturally engineered recordings such as seeds being rubbed together and each vegetable served as a part of a traditional orchestra (tomatoes were violins, carrots were trumpets, eggplants were harps, etc.). With the rise of plant obsessed Millennials and people’s increased interest in where their food comes from, this neon light exhibition certainly sparks a conversation about the growth of agriculture and the need for sustainable practices.

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There’s a new party game in town! Buzzfeed’s Product Labs has launched Social Sabotage, a board game that gets players posting, texting, and tweeting embarrassing content while they play the physical game. Available for preorder at Walmart for just $24.97, the game works by providing players with two types of cards: “Where and “What.” “What” cards provide the awkward messages, pictures, or captions users will need to send, while “Where” cards direct players where to send the exchange. For example, a player might be prompted to send an ex an eggplant emoji, or send their mom a video of them twerking. Players can pass on a challenge prompt if it’s too cringe-worthy, but the daring player with the most cards will win the game. Merging IRL and social media, we could see Social Sabotage quickly taking over game night.

Islands is the latest social media messaging app taking college campuses by storm. Still in beta, the app is only available at a few select colleges mostly in the south and a reported 25% of the University of Alabama’s freshman class has requested an invite. The self-proclaimed, “Slack for college” doesn’t really offer anything that other apps don’t – it’s location based like YikYak, allows users to meet one another like Tinder, has messaging like Facebook, and users can share pictures like Instagram or Snapchat. What makes Islands unique is that it’s all in one place, allows users to link their other profiles, and Gen Z coeds are falling in love with its beautiful design and ease of use. If the momentum continues, expect a nationwide rollout by next semester!

In response to and in critique of the lack of exposure queer men of color receive in the art world,Travis Geter, Robert Vance, and Redgi Woods set out to launch a creative collective called “The Disposable Series.” The first event introducing the collective was held in a loft in Downtown Los Angeles and featured Geter’s “SHADES Project.” The gallery showcased photos of various memorabilia that expressed the many unique ‘shades’ of the black man. Intended to transcend skin tone, shades also exemplified elements such as nationality, profession, age, sexuality, personal identity, and body build. Juxtaposed with the bold color blue that has many hues and nuances, this dynamic intro is just the first of the ongoing series that will provide a powerful outlet for queer artists of color to express themselves to everyone.